National Weather Service Seeking Weather Observers

INDIANAPOLIS – CoCoRaHS is not a term that most people would understand, but is something that is important to the recording of weather information. The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is looking for CoCoRaHS Volunteers in Knox County.

CoCoRaHS is an acronym for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network. It is a non-profit community based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure precipitation. The network originated at Colorado State University in 1988 and has expanded to many thousands of observers throughout the United States and beyond.

According to officials with the National Weather Service, there are only 3 requirements to participate in the program. Those requirements include the ability to access the CoCoRaHS website to submit daily reports, purchase and usage of an approved rain gauge, and enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions, as well as a desire to learn more about how weather can affect our lives.

The National Weather Service’s ultimate goal with the program is to have one observer per square mile in urban and suburban areas and one observer every 36 square miles in rural areas.

If you are interested in becoming a CoCoRaHS volunteer, you are encouraged to visit the CoCoRaHS home page and fill out an application. All new observers in Indiana are encouraged to attend a training session, either a live session, a walk-in training session, or online training via the CoCoRaHS website.